Patients who rely on the usage of health related testing or monitoring systems typically rely also on a supply of consumables that the health related monitors employ. For example, diabetics that frequently test glucose level using glucose meters such as Freestyle™ or Flash™, also need a supply of single use strips for testing purposes. Indeed, typically, the testing or monitoring devices such as the glucose meters are designed to last a long time which the devices themselves are configured to use consumables such as glucose test strips in order to operate the testing or monitoring devices.
For patients who are frequent users of the testing or monitoring devices, such as diabetics that test several times daily, having an ample supply of the test strips is critical. More often than not, it is the case that patients run out of the test strips which necessitates a trip to the drugstore, which in some cases, may not be practical. Furthermore, it is also inconvenient to consistently maintain a log or keep track of the number of test strips that remain until a new set of strips are purchased. On the other hand, it is wasteful to simply purchase a large quantity of test strips for storage, which may eventually be lost, that take up storage space, and cost a lot of money up front. This is also true for many other medical testing or monitoring devices, including, for example, measurement of blood coagulation times, cholesterol and lipids, and other diagnostic monitoring tests.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a subscription based type replenishment system for consumables related to testing or monitoring devices such as glucose meters which allows the user to conveniently and easily check for or be notified in advance of a low threshold supply level, and to have the desired amount of consumables placed in order for receipt. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a tracking system that would maintain a current usage level of the consumables and to notify the user of the testing or monitoring device when the supply level of the consumable falls below a predetermined level. Moreover, it would be desirable to integrate such tracking system systems that track user demand to, for example, forecast and anticipate demand, and also to track overall consumption patterns, preference, seasonal demand, geographic demand, and other similar demographic data for use in better managing supply side activities.